Hamilton: The second American Civil War continues

Readers may recall not long ago in this space: "What constitutes a Civil War is when certain bureaucrats within the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, along with certain elected and appointed officials within the Legislative and the Judicial Branches of government, form a conspiracy, either formal or informal, to set aside the results of the presidential election of 2016 and to prevent the duly elected president from being able to govern effectively…"

Do not be confused about what is going on in Washington, D.C. The current tactic in the American Civil War II is to provoke President Trump into taking an action or actions that could be the basis for the charge of: Obstruction of Justice.

Note well: If and when the Democrats obtain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Trump will be impeached for something like "running with scissors when his mother told him long ago not to do that." That, however, would not get President Trump convicted by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. A truly substantive charge would be required.

Recall, President Nixon was not forced out of office because some over-eager campaign underlings broke into the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee. The burglars were caught in the act and they were on their way to being subjected to whatever punishment the Courts and the Federal Election Commission decided to mete out. But, when President Nixon tried to cover up what happened, he obstructed justice and for that Nixon was forced to resign. Nixon's alternative was to risk being impeached by a simple majority of the House and, possibly, convicted by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate.

To add fuel to the "obstruction" fire, President Nixon ordered then Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire then Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and was fired. Richardson's subordinate, William Ruckelshaus, refused as well and was fired. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork, although opposed to the firings, decided a sitting president had the Constitutional authority to fire anyone within the Executive Branch. Bork fired Cox, ending any chance of Bork ever sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court.

But, if the Impeachment path fails, the rebels of the American Civil War II probably have a back-up plan to wit: Throw enough stones in the path of the Trump Administration getting anything meaningful done to the point that even President Trump's friends in his cabinet decide, for the good of the nation, that they must invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment which reads: "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

Last week, the rebels tossed in another stone, causing an important meeting about Syria to be interrupted while President Trump spoke out against the confiscation of his personal attorney's files by the FBI. Watch for more stones.

Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame. In 2015, he was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Nebraska. Dr. Hamilton is the author of The Wit and Wisdom of William Hamilton: the Sage of Sheepdog Hill, Pegasus Imprimis Press (2017). "Central View," can also be seen at: http://www.central-view.com.